Fantasy Baseball Thursday News and Notes

Senator Curt Schilling. 

Not sure if it has the ring to it that many would expect. Of course, how many would have pegged Schilling to already be throwing his hat into the ring for any political appointment? He certainly would not be the first, and he likely will not be the last. Jim Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher, has held a seat in the Senate since 1999. 

Tom Osborne gave politics a try, and Steve Largent is no stranger in the arena as well. Bunning was as outspoken as Schilling, albeit in a different era and in a different way. So, it can be done. 

In the state of Massachusetts, it would actually be entertaining to see unfold. As many know or will find out, Massachusetts is very much a state of Democrats. They were, after all, the only state in the country to support George McGovern against Richard Nixon.

Schilling is as far from a Democrat as you can get. He openly campaigned for both George W. Bush and John McCain.

How will voters and fans reconcile the two? No one fully understands Schilling's political leanings. Would he win the seat simply because of the bloody sock? It is certainly conceivable. 

In any case, best of luck to him in making the decision that is best for himself and his family. Not many would ever want their lives put under that type of scrutiny. If you thought people followed your every move because you were an athlete, you ain't seen nothing yet. 

On to the notes. 

Wednesday Rewind

• The joke has already been made by plenty of people on the Internet, so there is no claim of credit here. Still, it is worth repeating. The next person to fail at their job should immediately apply to the National League.
  
  Brad Penny could not get out of his own way pitching for Boston yet somehow manages eight shutout innings against the Phillies. John Smoltz has had plenty of early success pitching with the Cardinals. The league has to be filled with Triple-A lineups.
• Michael Young will be sidelined for a couple weeks to rest a hamstring injury. Young is hoping to be available the final two weeks of the season after resting the leg and getting himself ready to go. Tough time for fantasy owners to lose a player of his caliber, but look to Chris Coghlan, who has third base eligibility in many formats.
• The Rangers also lost Josh Hamilton last night. Hamilton has been bothered by a sore lower back since last weekend. He was removed from the game, and his availability for Friday is uncertain.
  
  The Rangers have today off, and that can only help. Plenty of outfielders are available that can help. Hamilton has struggled in terms of power, meaning that upgrades in that space are easier to find. Look at David DeJesus and how he has hit in the last month to fill in.
• The Yankees did not have Mariano Rivera available last night, as he was resting a sore groin. The Rockies have shut down closer Huston Street with bicep tendinitis. New York will look to use Phil Hughes in the short-term to replace Rivera, while the Rockies are likely to look to Franklin Morales.
• Aliens have obviously taken over the body of Josh Beckett. That is the only possible explanation for the recent run of rough outings. Beckett settled down after giving up five early runs, including two more home runs.
  
  He did not walk a batter and struck out nine over six innings. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Take the last four innings of his outing as a good sign.
• Owners should not be concerned with the activation of Troy Glaus in St. Louis. Glaus is not likely to see much action with Mark DeRosa having played a solid third base in his absence. Glaus struggle during his rehab assignment and will need too many at-bats to get his timing together. He is a pinch hitter if anything.
• Many questions have been asked about September call-ups. Check out Josh Thole of the Mets. Thole has a shot at taking over for the Mets as starting catcher in 2010, so they are giving him a chance here. Keith Law of ESPN reports that Thole is not necessarily the best "tools" player, but he tends to rise to the challenge of the level he is playing.
  
  With the Mets not having much in terms of catchers, Thole's performance could win him a job.
• Chris Carpenter won his 10th straight decision last night and improved to 8-1 at home this season. Overall, he is now 15-3 and has an ERA of just 2.20. He has worked at least six innings in all of his last 10 starts, continuing to prove himself as one of the best late-round steals in the 2009 draft.
• It was not just Penny that had a nice debut with his new team. Scott Kazmir struck out eight batters in his first outing with the Angels. He gave up just one earned run in 6.1 innings of work, but was simply not quite as good as Felix Hernandez. Good sign, though, as he was very efficient with his pitches.

Thursday Notes

• Not many looked at the month of April and expected Ricky Nolasco to be pitching for his 10th win of the season. Unfortunately, based on history, it may have to wait.
  
  Chipper Jones is 10-for-20 against Nolasco with four home runs, and Yunel Escobar is 8-for-16. Matt Diaz is 6-for-11, and even Brian McCann has three home runs in 25 at-bats. Tough matchup for Nolasco.
• David Price is nearly unhittable at home. Batters are only hitting .218 against him in Tampa, and he has compiled a 6-2 record in his nine starts. The Red Sox do not hit lefties well overall as a team, and this is a good spot for Price. Likely that Jason Varitek grabs a seat in this one.
• Nate Robertson will again take the turn of Armando Galarraga in the Detroit rotation. Robertson has struggled against Jhonny Peralta and Grady Sizemore. Both have more than 30 at-bats against Robertson and are hitting over .400 in those instances. Look to avoid the 4-for-30 mark of Travis Hafner.
• Manny Parra's numbers are ugly on the road. He is 5-7 in 13 starts with an ERA of 7.25. Batters are hitting .320 against him away from home. Nothing about the matchup would even whisper at you to start him.
  
  Still, he has gone 1-1 in three starts against the Cardinals, and he has allowed just five earned runs in 19.2 innings of work. This is more a caution on expectations for your Cardinals offense than an endorsement of Parra.
• Jon Garland's first start with the Dodgers will be against his former team in the Diamondbacks. Garland was not effective at home when he was with Arizona, but he should have some better run support with the Dodgers. Garland is not a spot start to pick up in this matchup, as he just is not consistent enough.
• Pedro Martinez has seen some of the players in the Giants lineup going back to his days in Boston. Look to avoid Bengie Molina. In addition to his injury concerns, he is 2-for-19 against Martinez in his career.
  
  Given the promotion of Buster Posey, Molina could become a moot point. Martinez has not had a full home start because of weather, so do not read anything in to the two short outings on his game log.
• Owners have been enjoying the home runs hit by Marcus Thames, but he is 0-for-14 against Fausto Carmona. Looking for a power boost? Aubrey Huff is 4-for-13 with two home runs in his appearances against Carmona. Your normal Tigers are going to be good plays otherwise.
• The Mets have had some success against Jason Marquis. Look to use David Wright and Luis Castillo. Both have gone 10-for-27 against the starter.
  
  Thole could see some time today as well, especially where Brian Schneider is just 1-for-21 against Marquis. Marquis is still a decent spot start given the weaknesses in the lineup and his wide availability.
• There will be one interleague contest tomorrow as a make-up game, as the White Sox will take on the Cubs. Ryan Dempster has struggled with some of his Chicago counterparts.
  
  Look for your standard starters in this one, and add Scott Podsednik to that as well. Podsednik is 5-for-15 against Dempster and has hit a home run to boot.
• Spot Starts: Clay Buchholz, Ricky Romero, Jason Marquis

Friday Notes

• The Yankees have had a lot of at-bats against Roy Halladay. In over 80 appearances, Derek Jeter has hit just .230 against the Toronto starter. Other potential problems come in the form of Nick Swisher's 2-for-14 and Melky Cabrera's .214 average in 36 at-bats. Otherwise, play your Yankees as you normally would.
• There is not much good in the Colorado lineup that would make owners want to play them against Dan Haren. While the Rockies have not used him much, their best option against Haren is Ryan Spilborghs.
  
• The outfielder is 9-for-21 against Haren. Beyond him, Chris Ianetta leads the charge at 4-for-14. After that, it falls off the cliff. Todd Helton's .235 ranks third in players with more than 10 at-bats.
• Adrian Gonzalez has not had good luck against Clayton Kershaw. Gonzalez is just 2-for-13 against the lefty. Kershaw has not received much run support at home, as evidenced by his 3-3 record in 14 starts. In those games, his ERA is at 2.00 and batters are hitting only .199 against him in 76.1 innings of work. In other words, keep sitting your Padres.
• Adam Wainwright has been good all season, and the Pirates that are left have little to go on against him. Avoid Ryan Doumit, as he has gone just 2-for-15 against Wainwright. he is the only player left on the Pirates with any sort of numbers to use.
• Jered Weaver is hittable on the road. Away from home, the starter has posted a 5.35 ERA despite having a 5-3 record. Jose Guillen has been back in the lineup for the Royals, and he has gone 8-for-18 against Weaver in the past. The Royals do not have much offense to speak of, so the concerns in using Weaver should be minimal.
• Spot Starts: Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel, Paul Byrd

---

Collin Hager writes The Elmhurst Pub fantasy blog. You can get your questions answered by sending an email to [e-mail]. He's also on Twitter @TheRoundtable.